9 to 5
by Gailstorm
Summary: One girl. Her Boss. A mountain of paper work. And the every day struggle to get home at a reasonable hour. AU
1. The Interview

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This story is merely for my own entertainment.

A/N: This is my very first Bleach fanfic. Here's to not messing things up too badly.

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Nanao smoothed out the newly formed wrinkles in her skirt, straightened the collar of her smart suit top (that she'd bought just for this occasion), and then after a few moments reached up and adjusted her glasses so that they sat more comfortably on the bridge of her nose. Fifteen minutes later, she went through the same motions. She wasn't normally this fidgety but this was her very first "real" job interview and so far nothing had gone as she'd expected.

For one thing, she'd been told to show up at precisely nine o'clock to the 8th floor of Building C that was part of the huge complex that was Gotei 13. Nervousness and her almost extreme dislike of being late, for anything, had seen to it that she'd gotten there thirty whole minutes before her appointed time. This was all well and good, because employers generally like punctuality, except for the fact that it was now eleven o'clock and no one had said much of anything to her at all. Nanao was sure she had the day right, not to mention the right time and location. During the last two hours, she'd checked the information written in her small day planner five times, quietly flipped through the same travel magazine three times, coughed politely two times (in case the girl sitting behind the receptionist desk had forgotten about her), and admired the décor of the room once.

The lobby was spacious, littered with comfy chairs and bright bunches of flowers, and on the whole gave off a nice peaceful feeling. Another thing she'd noticed was how quiet the place was. Except for the occasional ring of a telephone, there were no other sounds. She checked her watch, saw that another thirty minutes has somehow passed by and finally decided to do something. After all, nothing was going to happen if she just kept sitting there. She rose from her chair, picked up her purse, and walked purposefully towards the reception desk.

It was at that moment that a door on the far side of the room opened and allowed a tall man to enter the lobby. Correction, a tall man wearing a very pink flowery shirt. He took a slow glance around, saw Nanao and strode towards her.

"Hello! Ms. Nanao Ise, I presume?" he asked cheerfully. She was pleasantly surprised by the low timbre of his voice.

"Yes, sir." She stuck out her hand in greeting. The man took her hand in his and shook it quite vigorously.

"You haven't been waiting long, I hope.", he questioned.

"Well, actually sir, I'v…" was all she could say before he interrupted

"Excellent, then let's get this interview started." He turned around, but not before motioning at her to follow him, and proceeded out the way he'd come in. Nanao, who was grateful that things seemed to be getting underway, had to speed up just a bit in order to keep up with the man's long legged strides.

The difference between the quiet calm that was the lobby and the loud frenzied chaos that existed behind it was almost overwhelming. The large man didn't appear to notice it at all and was skillfully weaving in and out of groups of people, dodging persons loaded down with various sized stacks of paper work, leaving her to fend for herself.

Eventually, after two lefts and a right through a cubicle type maze, they reached the door of a more secluded office. The name Shunsui Kyoraku was neatly embossed on the front of it.

He swung open the door, gestured for her to enter, and said "Make yourself at home."

Though the offer was generous and did a little bit to make her feel more at ease, it proved to be harder than it sounded. For one thing, the room had an odd smell about it. It was musty in there, as if no one had opened a window or even the door in quite some time. The second thing, which was what made it difficult for her to even find a place to sit, was that nearly every available surface was covered with something.

There were piles of books on the desk, as well as a couple of dirty plates, and several very wobbly stacks of paper. These precariously stacked piles weren't limited to just the desk. They were on the seats of chairs, teetering on the edge of several sections of the office's grand bookcase, and had taken over a large portion of the floor. The only place spared of the mess was the trashcan in the corner of the room. It was completely empty and suspiciously shiny.

She elected to stay standing and said, "I'm fine as I am sir."

"Really?" he asked and gave her a look that showed he clearly did not believe her. "Then, please, have a seat for my sake. Looking at you standing there all stiff and forlorn makes me feel uncomfortable." He moved past her, took hold of a chair and tipped it forward so that its contents slid to the floor. Nanao, who was pretty certain she didn't look forlorn, inwardly cringed at the added clutter, and sat down in the offered chair.

The man shifted some things around on the desk so that there was a place for him to sit and said, "Welcome to my office."

"I… _your_, office?" she said in a voice that she hoped didn't express the shock she was feeling. Perhaps it was the pink shirt that had thrown off her assumptions. She'd pegged him as a fellow employee.

"Yes, and sorry about the mess. I haven't been in here since last week's unfortunate fire sprinkler incident." he said, wrinkling his nose as if he'd just noticed the strange odor.

"I see." which was all she could think of to say.

"Don't worry though, your office was relatively untouched." he continued.

"Mr. Kyoraku?" Maybe she hadn't heard him right.

"Mr. Kyoraku", he shuddered, "that sounds so impersonal. If we're to work together you must call me Shunsui or possibly Captain. Yes, Captain, I like the sound of that."

"So, I've got the job?" She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she'd gone from unemployed to employed in such record time.

"Only if you want it.", her perhaps boss replied sounding very amused.

"But you haven't even asked me any pertinent questions." she said feeling a little lost.

"Such as?"

"For instance, isn't it customary to at some point, ask me where I see myself in five years." That question had shown up a lot in the books and articles she'd studied to get ready for this interview.

"I've always disliked that question." he answered, "I mean, I don't know what I'll be doing five years from now so why should I expect you to?"

That was the end of her objections. She'd come to two possible conclusions. The first, and the most believable, was that this Shunsui Kyoraku person in front of her was crazy. The second was that she'd been set up and was now a victim of one of those horrible reality t.v. shows.

"I see my wonderful proposition has rendered you speechless." he said with a sigh. Shunsui got to his feet and held out a hand to help her get to feet. "As much as I would love to let you sit here until you come to a decision, I'm afraid I've got a rather pressing engagement to attend to."

Nanao ignored the hand in front of her and stood up all on her own.

"So here's what I'll do. I'll give you a couple of days to think things over. If you decide you want the job just give me a call and let me know." He went behind the desk, opened a drawer and pulled from it a box of business cards. "I always forget to pass these things out." he said and handed her three of them.

She accepted the cards and took the time to slip them into a front pocket of her planner. The whole interview had been weird, and she was positive she wasn't going to take him up on his offer, but it was plain rude to reject someone's business card. Determined to put this experience behind her, she expertly made her was back to the lobby. Nanao had always had a good sense of direction. She also made it a point to look for hidden cameras, just in case.

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Next time on 9 to 5: Will she or won't she? Also, what exactly is this 'Unfortunate Fire Sprinkler Incident'? Inquiring minds want to know.


	2. Nanao's Bad Day or The Call Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This story is for my own amusement.

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Yesterday had been a good day. Yesterday she'd had lots of options available to her (career-wise), a roommate who was good about paying the rent on time, and a car that worked. Today she had a worrying monetary problem, a phone call she didn't want to make, and the distinct feeling that the universe was conspiring against her. Perhaps these things had been a long time in coming and she just hadn't noticed.

Lee, her roommate, was a nurse who worked nights and went out on the weekends. Nanao wasn't a night person and had, until a month ago, been too busy with school and then graduation to have much of a social life. Sometimes weeks would go by without the two of them seeing each other. The arrangement suited them, or at least she thought it had. Lee kept the apartment neat, was never late with her share of the rent, and mainly communicated with her via notes left on the fridge. To the best of her knowledge, none of the notes had ever said anything like:

Nanao-

I've decided to disappear into the night along with all my stuff. Good luck coming up with an additional $450. Have a nice life!

-Lee

She'd received this lovely bit of news during breakfast when her landlord called to see if she'd found another roommate. Baffled by the question, she'd asked what had happened to the old one and he (though shocked that she didn't already know) filled her in on the most recent goings-on of her roommate's life. Apparently, Lee had gotten herself a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was so great that she'd opted to move in with him after only dating for a month. A boyfriend whose sheer awesomeness made her forget dull everyday things like prior longstanding agreements, that it was impolite to leave people hanging in the wind, and if you _were_ going to leave someone hanging in the wind you could at least tell them about it first.

She'd absorbed the information with a well-what-can-you do sort of attitude and had been slightly comforted that her decision to put aside a good bit of money for emergencies was coming in handy. It would hurt but she could afford to pay for the whole of next month's rent too. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long for Lee to clear out her belongings so that someone else could move in.

After such an unpleasant morning, Nanao decided that a trip to the library was in order. She'd always been a bit of a bookworm and the library had been a refuge of hers since before high school. It cheered her up to be in the presence of so many books that were just waiting for her to read them. There were also several things she needed to return, which made for the perfect excuse to leave the apartment for a while.

The idea was a good one right up until she started the car, but couldn't make it go anywhere. Her vehicle, an older Ford Taurus, had died in the parking lot. The official cause of death was a shot transmission, a fact that she'd learned only after having her car towed to a local mechanic. The cost of a new transmission would be a brutal blow to her budget, one that it couldn't take. If she wanted a car that actually ran, she would need a significant increase in salary fast, in other words, she'd have to accept the job at Gotei 13.

Those were the circumstances that reluctantly led her to dial the number written on Mr. Kyoraku's business card and leave a message (on what sounded like his personal cellphone) about her decision.

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A/N: The chapter is short, but necessary. Thanks to those who reviewed. ^_^

Next time on 9 to 5: Nanao gets a glimpse of her office, tackles her first mountain of paper work, and wonders what it is that her boss actually does.


	3. The First Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This story is for my own entertainment.

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"Nanao! Did you do this?" The sound of her boss' voice about made her drop the watering can she was carrying. She took a deep breath, entered his office, and nearly bumped into Mr. Kyoraku. He was standing right in front of the door staring fixedly at his desk.

"Sir, I.", Nanao started then stopped as a horrible thought struck her. Perhaps she'd been wrong to straighten things up. He probably had a system, a cluttered highly unorganized system, which she'd just ruined. The idea had sounded good an hour ago when she'd gotten restless waiting for Mr. Kyoraku to arrive. It was hard to be a personal assistant to someone who wasn't there to assist. She'd assured herself that the job would get easier once she knew what her responsibilities were. However, as today was the very first one, she didn't even know where to begin and finally settled on tidying up his mess of an office. She'd sorted the piles of paper on his desk into more manageable stacks, taken away dirty plates, and had even done some light dusting. She'd been in the middle of watering his poor half dead plants when his voice surprised her. In her cleaning frenzy, she'd forgotten that at some point her boss was going to show up.

"Nanao! Nanao! This is utterly amazing. I can _see _the top of my desk." Shunsui said astonished and turned to beam at her. "You've only been here a day and already you're working miracles."

"I didn't do that much, Mr. Kyoraku." She said modestly. Well, at least he wasn't upset with her for moving things around.

"Come Nanao, I thought I told you to call me Shunsui." he tsked, "But, as I was just the teensiest bit late this morning I'll forgive you. " She remembered that he'd also asked her to call him captain, something that she definitely was not going to do.

"Yes, sir." She said firmly trying not to let her frustration show. He'd been over two hours late. It would have been nice if he'd told her to come in later or had at least given her an assignment to start working on in his absence.

Shunsui sat down at his desk and ran his hand along the edge of it, apparently still marveling over the fact that such huge portions of it could be seen. Nanao remembered that she was still holding the watering can and finished tending to the plants. After a moment, she heard a series of muffled thumps which proved to be Shunsui rifling through his desk drawers. He eventually produced a key from the top drawer and waved it at her as if he'd won some sort of victory.

"I think the first order of the day will be to get you settled into your office. It is conveniently just two doors down from mine. " He stood up and made his way towards her office. She set down the watering can and followed him.

Nanao watched as Shunsui slid the key into the lock, turned the handle, and simply could not get the door to open. Several more attempts were made with the same result before he stopped to peer through the door's small window.

"Oh dear, I forgot about that." he said mournfully. She stepped up beside him and looked through the window as well. The office was filled with boxes. They were everywhere, on top of everything, and were also blocking the door.

"Forgot about what?"She inquired wondering if he'd taken her to the wrong place. This couldn't possibly be her office it looked more like a storage room.

"That whole ordeal with the fire sprinklers."

She frowned, "I thought you said that my office was relatively untouched."

"Oh, it was. Which is what made it such a perfect place to store stuff while things were getting cleaned up", he explained. He tried once again to force the door open.

"What happened with the fire sprinklers?"She asked and then joined him in pushing on the door. She was a little worried that they were going to break the door, but felt relieved when it began to budge.

"Hmm…" he stalled, "I guess to put it briefly the sprinklers went off as the result of a birthday celebration gone dreadfully wrong." He motioned for her to step away and with a sudden burst of strength slammed into the door which finally opened enough to allow a person to enter. "There we go!" he said proudly and edged his way in.

It took two hours to clear out enough boxes so that getting from the door to the desk was a feasible task. At first, it had just been the two of them shifting boxes from her office to an empty one next door (which he'd promised didn't belong to anyone). Then, around one o'clock, Shunsui enlisted the help of a young man named Val, who'd had the misfortune of walking by and not looking too busy.

Val wasn't there long because shortly thereafter Shunsui decided that it was time for lunch. The thought of eating in the cafeteria with her boss and a man she didn't know (a man who was quite obviously wishing he was somewhere else) was unappealing and she hoped she could find a way to excuse herself. She needn't have worried though because Shunsui disappeared almost as quickly as he'd declared it lunch time and Val stuck around long enough to tell her that the cafeteria was located in Building B on the second floor.

The lunch room was a big affair made for seating a great number of people, and was surprisingly full for it being later in the afternoon. She went through the line and picked up some soup and a salad. She also purchased a small slice of chocolate cake because she was tired and it looked good. Not seeing anyone she knew, which was really only three people Mr. Kyoraku, Val and Amina (the 8th floor receptionist), she sat down at an empty table near a window and began to eat her lunch.

She had just taken a bite of cake when two women unexpectedly sat down next to her. A group of about five or six others followed suit so that she found herself surrounded by people. She wondered if she'd mistakenly chosen to eat at a reserved table and contemplated moving. The situation was made even more uncomfortable by the fact that all of the newcomers were unabashedly giving her the once-over.

"So, you're Shunsui's new PA?" This question came from a girl with orange hair. Nanao relaxed a little realizing that these people were just the welcoming committee, with a very in-your-face sort of way.

"Yes.", she nodded. Her answer opened the floodgate and she was bombarded with questions that ranged from the curious to the inappropriate.

"What's it like working for him?"

"Is he as weird as they say?"

"Isn't he scrumptious?"

The clamor died down and she opened her mouth to say that she barely knew her boss and didn't think she could give them a satisfactory answer when the orange haired girl asked, "Do you think you'll last long?"

"Why do you ask?" she countered. Maybe she'd been wrong about the welcoming committee, maybe these girls were members of a Shunsui Kyoraku fan club. It would make sense given that all their questions had been about him.

"Well, his last assistant was only here for a week. I had to treat everyone in the Women's Association to lunch at Café Blu. My wallet can't take another blow like that" The girl grumbled.

"How many assistants has he had?" she asked putting aside the thought that she was the subject of a betting pool.

"Six in the last two months. They all quit after a couple of weeks. It's been that way since Lisa left." said a petite blonde sitting at the end of the table.

"Lisa?" she wondered out loud. Whoever this Lisa person was, it seemed that no one wanted to talk about her. The blonde received a couple of glares and then the conversation was forcibly changed to the weather. Their interest in her died away quickly after that and Nanao quickly finished her cake before they noticed her again.

Nanao gathered up her trash and was about to leave the table, but was stopped by the girl with orange hair. "My name's Rangiku. Sorry about putting you on the spot like that."

"It's okay. I can handle a few questions."she replied.

Rangiku looked at her for a second then said, "Yeah, you look like a tough girl. Anyway, I work on the 10th floor, so feel free to drop by and visit me anytime. I'm betting that you'll be here for a while, so don't let me down."

Feeling oddly comforted by her words, she went back to her office and returned to the arduous task of moving boxes. It took her until well after six o'clock to get her office thoroughly cleaned out and dusted because neither her boss nor Val came back to help. She probably could have gone home earlier, but she didn't much like the thought of having to spend another day doing such back breaking labor.

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A/N: Next time on 9 to 5: Nanao learns about some of her boss' bad habits.


	4. Learning the Ropes

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This story is merely for my own entertainment.

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It'd been almost two weeks since she'd started working at Gotei 13 and she'd already gotten used to, even accepted, many things about her job. Her boss, for instance, never showed up before eleven o'clock and had the habit of randomly disappearing whenever she mentioned anything about signing paperwork or upcoming meetings. Eventually she'd discovered that the man didn't, as much as it seemed like it, disappear in a puff of smoke but merely 'hid' when faced with boring office tasks.

Nanao had only been there for a short time, but she already had the distinct privilege of being one of the few people who had any luck what-so-ever finding Mr. Kyoraku. She'd made a list of places to look, should his presence ever be needed immediately. The list contained such places as: the courtyard on Friday afternoons (where some of the other floors held their parties in celebration of something), the bench directly underneath a lovely group of cherry trees about halfway through the company's walking path, the 13th floor's coffee break room (she found him there quite by accident), and strangely enough the newly built health clinic. His excuse for the last location was that he'd suffered a grievous paper cut and was in need of some bandages. Nanao suspected it had more to do with the pretty nurses employed there. She'd typed up the list, printed it out on bright paper, and had posted it on the bulletin board by the water fountains in case anyone else had to look for him. She reposted it every couple of days, however, because it had a mysterious way of vanishing…just like her boss.

She'd also gotten used to her fellow employees rather laid back attitude regarding paperwork. They had no problems with generating it, but filling it out and sending it off was another matter all together. The general consensus seemed to be that if you didn't see the paperwork then it didn't exist. It would explain why she, in the course of doing her job (which was primarily to help Shunsui keep things running smoothly), often found important notes and memos stuffed away odd places. Her dedication to making sure things got signed and turned in on time gained her a reputation as a cold taskmaster, but it did get the job done.

There was only one thing that she couldn't handle. From the very first day, she'd had the funny feeling that her boss was putting her through some kind of test. A test, that no matter how well she did her job, she was failing miserably. It was frustrating to the extreme and it had gotten to the point that she _almost_ dreaded his next peculiar order. In the beginning, his requests hadn't been that out of the ordinary. She'd seen to it that his desk always had fresh flowers on it, that he wasn't interrupted on Tuesdays between the hours of two and three o'clock (for reasons unknown), and that absolutely no one by the names of Jill or Rika were ever to be admitted into his office. When asked about this he murmured something about ex-girlfriends and promptly changed the subject.

Now they'd gotten to be downright ridiculous. Yesterday, he'd told her that his pet had been feeling poorly all weekend and had asked her if she wouldn't mind taking his cat to the vet. This errand was clearly outside of her description, but she didn't want the animal to suffer and he'd made it sound like he was going to be too busy to do it himself.

She'd reluctantly gone to his apartment only to find no trace of a cat at all, not even a litter box. Upon her return, she informed her boss that his cat had possibly gotten loose and asked if he wanted her to make some lost cat flyers for him to post. She felt that the last bit had been a nice touch, something that showed she was willing to go the extra mile. The only response she got from him was a disappointed look, a sigh, and then a cheerful, "No worries, I expect she'll show up soon feeling better."

He left her holding back caustic remarks about wild goose chases and non-existent cats. If that kind of thing was what he'd done to his previous personal assistants, no wonder they'd quit. She had briefly entertained the idea of quitting, but somehow her job had turned into a contest of sorts and she found that she didn't want to lose.

Today's request made her think that not even the prospect of winning this strange challenge was worth all of the trouble she was going through. It was after five o'clock, she'd been packing up her stuff to go, when Shunsui waltzed into her office and said, "Wonderful! You're still here. I need some advice." She hoped that the advice he wanted was about which project he should sign off on first, or whether or not he should attend all five of his meetings tomorrow or just two. She could give him a quick easy answer and be out the door and in her car by five thirty. Instead he said, "What should I wear?"

She blinked and let the words, "Clothes, sir", slip out of her mouth. His total non-sequitur had startled her into saying the first thing that came into her head.

"Well, yes, of course but I was thinking of something more specific." Shunsui looked at her expectantly. The silence that followed was awkward as Nanao tried to figure out why her boss was coming to her for fashion advice. She wasn't a fashion maven. She didn't keep up with current trends. Her clothes were neat, classic business wear.

"You see", he continued, "Yamamoto's ordered me to attend tomorrow's meeting with Vizard Ltd. And, if that weren't unfortunate enough, he's also demanded that I show up looking decent. I think I always look decent."

Mr. Yamamoto had probably been referring to Shunsui's penchant for wearing pink, flowery shirts. They didn't look bad on him, they even suited him to a point, but they certainly wouldn't help him to impress anyone.

"Any way, since you're here and you don't look too terribly busy, why don't we go and have you pick something out for me? I'm sure you know what's decent." He reached into his wallet and handed her a credit card. "Don't worry about the price."

"Sir, I was about to go home." She motioned at the clock on the wall.

"I'm sure it won't take long at all." he smiled, ignoring her comment.

If she could have done it earlier in the day she might have done it cheerfully. Shopping was something that she liked to do, even if it was for someone else. Besides, seeing that her boss looked respectable wasn't that weird compared to other things she'd done for him. To ask her at the very end of the day was wrong. She'd made plans tonight, very important plans.

Lee had agreed to meet with her at a café near her apartment. The purpose of their meeting was the rent money that was still owed to her. It was by pure chance that she discovered the location of her ex-roommate. A friend of hers, who also knew Lee, had mentioned seeing her working at a clothing store in the mall two towns over and it didn't take Nanao long to track her down. After many phone calls and thinly veiled threats concerning legal action, she'd finally given in and was going to pay for her final share. It'd been hard enough to pin her down to a time that was convenient for both of them, so if she didn't see her tonight there wouldn't be another chance. If things kept going the way they were, she was going to need that money.

She glanced up at her boss, not liking him at all, but grudgingly prepared to do what he'd asked and saw that he looked thoroughly amused. He was smiling at her as if watching her internal struggle was a pleasant sort of entertainment. It was the last straw.

"Sir, I respectfully decline." she said crisply. This would certainly get her fired.

"What?" Shunsui replied, still smiling.

"It is past five o'clock, I'm hungry, and I have someone I really need to see, so I will not be doing your shopping. I would be happy to help you out first thing tomorrow morning, sir." she said trying not to burn all her bridges and gave him back his credit card.

His smile, if possible, got even bigger. "Ah, Nanao! I knew you had it in you." He clasped her still outstretched hand and shook it.

"Have what, sir?" she asked feeling more than mildly perplexed.

"Some spunk. I was beginning to worry a little bit, but I shouldn't have. "

"So, all of the silly things you've asked me to do these last couple of days were to see if I had spunk?" she asked, wishing she wasn't having this conversation.

"Not all of them."

Nanao glared at him.

"But most of them", he conceded.

She removed her hand from his and said, "I really do need to leave now, or I will be late."

"Don't be mad. Spunk is an essential quality for a personal assistant, especially one of mine."

"Why?" She decided that she could spare five minutes to listen to his explanation. The reason behind her decision to stick around (she told herself) was because it was the proper thing to do and absolutely not because she was curious.

"I admit I can be a little hard to deal with." Shunsui said, though it sounded like he didn't really believe this of himself. "So, I need someone who knows when, and isn't afraid, to say things like no and enough is enough."

The look on his face at that moment, even if it didn't last long, was the clincher. She'd never seen him be serious before and it was a little unsettling.

"Also, having someone who goes around catering to your every whim isn't nearly as nice as you might think." he continued.

Nanao sighed and said,"Alright, so now that you've determined I've got spunk are you going to stop with all the weird commands? And, do you really need me to go suit shopping with you?"

"No, but we could go shopping together any way. I'm sure it'd be a lot more interesting and productive than anything else I'd be doing tomorrow."

"No thank you, sir." she said, suddenly relishing this freedom that having 'spunk' had given her. Nanao picked up her briefcase, wished her boss a good evening, and left before he could say anything else.

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A/N: This chapter took me forever to write. I get easily distracted. Thanks to everyone who read and left comments. ^_^

The musical inspiration for this chapter was 5 O'clock World by The Vogues and Hey Julie by Fountains of Wayne.


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